We had a great Sunday in Bamako. Here are my Bamako Branch friends.
Today in Primary:
The children LOVE singing, especially the chorus of “Nephi’s Courage!”
Here are some of the songs we’ve learned:
The youth class:
The adult class:
Working on ministering assignments with Valerie, our Relief Society President.
When we arrived in Sounsounkoro this morning we learned that a woman in the village had died, so many of the women wouldn’t be attending our closing ceremonies for the water projects. These are the women who were hard at work preparing a meal for the village after the funeral this afternoon.
They were preparing huge pots of chicken and stew and rice. Everyone contributes to these village funerals, helping to provide for the grieving family. What a blessing to be a part of a village!
Chopping fire wood:
I love the sense of community in the villages. They love and care for one another here.
I always had a hard time imagining Mali with fields of green. We were in Covid lock down in Abidjan last year during the rainy season. This year we are here and we are loving the cooling weather and the rains. This is a time for plowing and for planting. In the rural areas of Mali, villagers are hard at work in the fields planting. The main crops here are corn, millet, cotton, peanuts, okra, beans, and some garden vegetables.
The village of Sounsounkoro has warmly welcomed the Dogon refugees from the northern parts of Mali who have fled from the terrorists. These refugees (internally displaced persons, or IDP) have been given land on the north and the south sides of the village. These two camps are a couple of miles apart.
When the Ouelessebougou Alliance and LDS Charities made plans to help these IDP camps, they determined that both the north and the south camps needed wells. They also decided to put in a well for the women’s garden in the main village, to help sustain the host village there.
After visiting the first two wells we drove to the third one on the north side of the village. It was too far for most of the villagers from the south to join us, but a few were able to come by motorcycle. These villagers had been waiting for us all morning.
These are some of the first women we met months ago when we first visited these refugee camps and learned about their struggles to get water to their homes. They’ve been traveling a long ways to get water. Now they have a beautiful well in their own village. What a difference this has made!
These women also sang and danced for us. That is how they express their gratitude. We are so happy for them.
Again, we were presented with 2 chickens and also some kola nuts.
The beautiful gifts we received today:
These are our wonderful Ouelessebougou Alliance friends. We’ve been coming to Ouelessebougou since 2010. I’ve been associated with the Alliance since 1989 when I returned from Nigeria. I love these dear friends. Anounou has been directing the Alliance for 20 years now. Today was his last official day before his retirement. We are so grateful to him and to the others for the difference they are making in this corner of the world.
After the main celebration in Sounsounkoro this morning, we went to the second pump well provided by LDS Charities and the Ouelessebougou Alliance. This well is situated in the women’s garden. The villagers have prepared a large area which will be planted after the rainy season ends. Women’s gardens provide work and produce for the women and their families. Without a water source near by, these gardens are impossible. This well will be a great blessing to all of the families here.
The garden is in an enclosed area to keep the animals out.
The village elders and the Mayor of Ouelessebougou, again expressed their thanks to LDS Charities and the Ouelessebougou Alliance for their kindness.
This is the area that will be cultivated for the garden after the rainy season.
Anounou visiting with village leaders.
I am happy thinking about these children growing up in a place where they now have access to water year-round.
Today was a big day. We traveled to the Ouelessebougou area for the closing ceremonies of our water project in Sounsounkoro with our friends in the refugee camps there. The Ouelessebougou Alliance and LDS Charities partnered to drill 3 wells with hand pumps for these good people who have left their homes in the north to find safety here.
Biggo, Francois and Nourou from our Bamako Branch joined us as representatives from the Church. We also celebrated with our Ouelessebougou Alliance friends. Today was Anounou’s last official day as the Project Director before he retires. Djiba will be taking his place there. It was great to be with these dear friends.
The women danced their thanks after we arrived in the village.
This village elder was the keeper of the chickens that were presented to us at the end of the ceremony.
I love these women–their dignity, their poise, their colors, their love.
This elderly man (on the left) was the first of the Dogon people to come to this place 31 years ago. When the terrorists in the north started harming the villagers there, he told his friends to come to Ouelessebougou to find peace and safety here.
This ceremony was held in a tent near the first of the 3 pump wells. We heard remarks from village officials, including the Mayor of Ouelessebougou, the assistant chief of the village (the chief was sick), Anounou, the Imam, Nourou representing the LDS Church, the first refugee who came here 31 years ago, and women from the women’s organization.
After the celebrations and the speeches, we all walked together from the tent to the first well about 10 minutes away. The recent rains have watered the land and everything is green.
Once at the well, we had a few more speeches and expressions of gratitude from the village leaders. They pumped some water and drank from their cupped hands and gave thanks for this life-changing gift.
The women sang and danced again, telling the story of the well in their song.
What a happy celebration!
Then we started walking back to the central village where the next pump well was installed by the women’s garden.
This is the hope of this refugee camp–beautiful strong healthy children. Their eyes penetrate my heart. Our Father in Heaven knows them and He loves them. How can we not?
Here are a few fun things from this week. We’ve been getting together with Eric Rands every weekend to have dinner together, then we watch the French version of The Count of Monte Cristo. It’s free on YouTube, staring Gerard Depardieu. It’s divided into 4 episodes. You will want to watch it. There are English subtitles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnAWw7MAN3U
This week I celebrated 300 days of solid French study! I spend up to an hour every day studying French and it’s sure paying off.
Here’s an interesting billboard about Covid. The update here: our numbers are still low. There have been 535 reported Covid deaths in Mali. We are still careful every day and try hard to keep our masks on. The general feeling here is that Malians are immune to Covid. Cote d’Ivoire is even lower with 363 reported deaths so far. The curious thing is that numbers in Senegal, to the west of us, have been rising, with 1,625 deaths reported to date. South Africa is just under 78,000. And the USA has now surpassed 600,000 deaths.
As we’ve moved into the rainy season, crops are growing and the early corn is starting to show up on the streets for sale. This field corn is grilled over a fire and eaten off the cob.
A furniture delivery!
A load of fire wood.
We stopped here to put air in our tires.
This is the restaurant in the bottom of our apartment building. I don’t want to forget the happy memories we’ve had there with friends.
This week our backyard neighbors put a new roof on part of their home.
My neighbor friends by the church, taking a break from their hopscotch to say hello.
Here’s another good memory I want to capture. This is in our apartment. We have a foot faucet, for washing feet and for filling buckets. I use this every day when we come in to wash my feet and shoes.
Here’s what Malian and Ivorian money looks like. We call the money here CFA, which is pronounced “see- fa” or “say-fa.” The bills are often tattered and worn. The exchange rate in both countries has fluctuated at levels between of 550.0 and 590.0 per US dollars. Don’t let the large numbers on the bills fool you. At 550 per US dollar, a 10,000 note is worth $18.18.
The coins are small and made from stainless steel or brass. They are hardly worth anything. The largest 100 franc coin is only worth 18 cents. The smallest coin is worth less that 1/10 of a penny. We seldom even use the coins. Most shops or markets don’t give change if it’s in coins.
Here are the countries that use the West African CFA franc (the green on the map).
Here are a few interesting things we saw today. I love these drive by clothing stores!
I’ve got my eye out for mattresses (remembering the blind school dorms).
Bread for sale at the bakery.
A shoe store.
This lady is bagging sugar to sell. Most commodities are sold in small portions for daily use. It’s hard to afford a big bag of anything, so most live day to day, getting by with small amounts.
A boy and his wheel!
These girls are going through our trash. Every day, several times a day, children and adults in the street rummage through our trash, hoping for something they can use or eat.
Sundays are the best days ever! Here are the beautiful faces of some of our friends.
Our adult class, combined Relief Society and Elders Quorum, discussing a conference talk.
Here are our beautiful Primary children.
Here is our youth class.
This morning the contract for the Diatoula school project was signed by our friend, Konate. We are trying hard to get everything in place and started before we go home in a few weeks. We Really want to get this project off the ground!
We helped to clean the church before and after that contract was signed. After that the Elders were doing some exercising!
Fr Mbaya’s home is still drying out from the flood. He’s moved his things into this storage room at the church to keep everything dry.
I love seeing traveling menders in our neighborhoods here. This is a job I would like to do if I lived here!
And our neighbor next to the church was busy bagging his charcoal to sell. Every little bit is part of a grander whole. All these things made me happy today!
Our Cote d’Ivoire Abidjan East and Bamako, Mali Mission 